Dataset Information

Repairing the Leaky Pipeline: A Motivationally Supportive Intervention to Enhance Persistence in Undergraduate Science Pathways.

ABSTRACT: The current study reports on the efficacy of a multi-faceted motivationally designed undergraduate enrichment summer program for supporting science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) persistence. Structural equation modeling was used to compare summer program participants (n = 186), who participated in the program between their first and second years in college, to a propensity score matched comparison sample (n = 401). Participation in the summer program positively predicted science motivation (self-efficacy, task value), assessed eight months after the end of the program (second year in college). The summer enrichment program was also beneficial for science persistence variables, as evidenced by significant direct and indirect effects of the program on science course completion during students' third year of college and students' intentions to pursue a science research career assessed during the third year of college. In general, the program was equally beneficial for all participants, but ancillary analyses indicated added benefits with respect to task value for students with relatively lower prior science achievement during the first year of college and with respect to subsequent science course taking for males. Implications for developing effective interventions to reduce the flow of individuals out of STEM fields and for translating motivational theory into practice are discussed.

SUBMITTER: Linnenbrink-Garcia L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5976262 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Repairing the Leaky Pipeline: A Motivationally Supportive Intervention to Enhance Persistence in Undergraduate Science Pathways.

Linnenbrink-Garcia Lisa L Perez Tony T Barger Michael M MM Wormington Stephanie V SV Godin Elizabeth E Snyder Kate E KE Robinson Kristy K Sarkar Abdhi A Richman Laura S LS Schwartz-Bloom Rochelle R

Contemporary educational psychology 20180302

The current study reports on the efficacy of a multi-faceted motivationally designed undergraduate enrichment summer program for supporting science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) persistence. Structural equation modeling was used to compare summer program participants (<i>n</i> = 186), who participated in the program between their first and second years in college, to a propensity score matched comparison sample (<i>n</i> = 401). Participation in the summer program positively predicted ...[more]

PMID: 29861537

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Project description:BackgroundSeminal reports, based on recommendations by educators, scientists, and in collaboration with students, have called for undergraduate curricula to engage students in some of the same practices as scientists-one of which is communicating science with a general, non-scientific audience (SciComm). Unfortunately, very little research has focused on helping students develop these skills. An important early step in creating effective and efficient curricula is understanding what baseline skills students have prior to instruction. Here, we used the Essential Elements for Effective Science Communication (EEES) framework to survey the SciComm skills of students in an environmental science course in which they had little SciComm training.ResultsOur analyses revealed that, despite not being given the framework, students included several of the 13 elements, especially those which were explicitly asked for in the assignment instructions. Students commonly targeted broad audiences composed of interested adults, aimed to increase the knowledge and awareness of their audience, and planned and executed remote projects using print on social media. Additionally, students demonstrated flexibility in their skills by slightly differing their choices depending on the context of the assignment, such as creating more engaging content than they had planned for.ConclusionsThe students exhibited several key baseline skills, even though they had minimal training on the best practices of SciComm; however, more support is required to help students become better communicators, and more work in different contexts may be beneficial to acquire additional perspectives on SciComm skills among a variety of science students. The few elements that were not well highlighted in the students' projects may not have been as intuitive to novice communicators. Thus, we provide recommendations for how educators can help their undergraduate science students develop valuable, prescribed SciComm skills. Some of these recommendations include helping students determine the right audience for their communication project, providing opportunities for students to try multiple media types, determining the type of language that is appropriate for the audience, and encouraging students to aim for a mix of communication objectives. With this guidance, educators can better prepare their students to become a more open and communicative generation of scientists and citizens.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40594-021-00304-0.

Dataset Information

Repairing the Leaky Pipeline: A Motivationally Supportive Intervention to Enhance Persistence in Undergraduate Science Pathways.

Publications

Repairing the Leaky Pipeline: A Motivationally Supportive Intervention to Enhance Persistence in Undergraduate Science Pathways.

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